{{Short description|Pakistani politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Use Pakistani English|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Ramesh Kumar Vankwani | honorific_suffix = | image = | office = Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan | term_start = 13 March 2024 | term_end = | constituency = Reserved seat for minorities | term_start1 = 13 August 2018 | term_end1 = 10 August 2023 | constituency1 = Reserved seat for minorities | term_start2 = 1 June 2013 | term_end2 = 31 May 2018 | constituency2 = Reserved seat for minorities | party = MQM-P (2025-present) | other_party = PPP (2024-2024)<br>IPP<br> (2023-2024)<br>PTI (2018-2023)<br>PMLN (2013-2018)<br>PML(Q) (2002-2013) | office3 = Founder of PHC | term_start3 = 2005 | term_end3 = 2025 | successor = | office4 = Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh PML(Q) | term_start4 = 2002 | term_end4 = 2007 | constituency4 = Reserved seat for minorities | occupation = Politician | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1974}} | birth_place = Islamkot, Sindh, Pakistan | native_name = {{lang|sd|{{Naskh|رميش ڪمار وانڪواڻي}}}} }}
'''Ramesh Kumar Vankwani''' ({{Langx|sd|{{Naskh|رميش ڪمار وانڪواڻي}}}}) is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from August 2018 till August 2023. But in 2022 he left PTI to join PPP. Previously he was member of the National Assembly from June 2013 to May 2018 and a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from 2002 to 2007. He was considered a strongest candidate to contest general elections 2024 from NA-241 Karachi on the ticket of PPP.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-31 |title=Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani emerged as strongest NA-241 candidate - PNP |url=https://pnp.com.pk/102392/ |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=Press Network of Pakistan |language=en-US}}</ref> However, he was not awarded the ticket and his nomination on the reserved seats in National Assembly was not liked by the ideological workers of PPP on the bases that he had been known changing political parties in the past two decades.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ali |first=Kalbe |date=2024-01-06 |title=Award of ticket to Vankwani draws ire of PPP minority leaders |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1803503 |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>
==Education and background== Vankwani possesses bachelor's degree of medicine and bachelor's degree of surgery.<ref name="pas/2002">{{cite web|title=Welcome to the Website of Provincial Assembly of Sindh|url=http://www.pas.gov.pk/index.php/members/profile/en/9/106|website=www.pas.gov.pk|accessdate=7 April 2018|archive-date=8 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408010115/http://www.pas.gov.pk/index.php/members/profile/en/9/106|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was born in Islamkot, Tharparkar in 1974, into a Sindhi Hindu family.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
==Political career==
Vankwani ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as an independent candidate from Constituency PS-61 (Tharparkar-II) in the 2002 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful. He received 34 votes and lost the seat to a candidate of National Alliance.<ref>{{cite web|title=2002 Sindh Assembly election result|url=https://ecp.gov.pk/Documents/General%20Election%202002/Sind.pdf|publisher=ECP|accessdate=7 April 2018|archive-date=13 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413164733/https://ecp.gov.pk/Documents/General%20Election%202002/Sind.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the same election, he was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) on a reserved seat for minorities.<ref name="pas/2002" /> He founded Pakistan Hindu Council<ref>{{cite news|title=56 candidates vie for 15 Hindu Council seats|url=https://nation.com.pk/07-Mar-2016/56-candidates-vie-for-15-hindu-council-seats|accessdate=7 April 2018|work=The Nation}}</ref> in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pakistan Hindu Council loses an active member|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/75076-pakistan-hindu-council-loses-an-active-member|accessdate=7 April 2018|work=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}</ref>
Vankwani was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) on a reserved seat for minorities in the 2013 Pakistani general election.<ref>{{cite news|title=Women, minority seats allotted|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1014677|accessdate=7 March 2017|work=DAWN.COM|date=29 May 2013|language=en|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307205110/https://www.dawn.com/news/1014677|archivedate=7 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Is the NA apathetic towards minority issues?|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1133565|accessdate=7 March 2017|work=DAWN.COM|date=22 September 2014|language=en|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308044428/https://www.dawn.com/news/1133565|archivedate=8 March 2017}}</ref>
Vankwani came to the limelight in September 2014,<ref>{{cite news|title=PML-N's minority lawmaker Ramesh Kumar formally joins PTI|url=https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/pml-ns-minority-lawmaker-ramesh-kumar-set-to-join-pti/|accessdate=7 April 2018|work=Daily Pakistan Global}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> when he along with Rehman Malik was removed from a flight from Karachi to Islamabad because of their late check-in which caused the flight to delay.<ref>{{cite news|title=Two Pakistani Politicians Got Kicked Off a Plane by Furious Passengers|url=https://time.com/3388980/pakistan-international-airlines-pia-rehman-malik-ramesh-kumar-vankwani/|access-date=21 January 2015|publisher=Time|date=17 September 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119033955/http://time.com/3388980/pakistan-international-airlines-pia-rehman-malik-ramesh-kumar-vankwani/|archive-date=19 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pakistan Rehman Malik: Passengers force ex-minister off plane|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29218939|accessdate=21 January 2015|publisher=BBC News|date=16 September 2014|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215171126/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29218939|archivedate=15 February 2015}}</ref>
In January 2018, he was elected as the chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee for Statistics.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dr Ramesh Kumar elected chairman of NA Committee on Statistics|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/01/25/dr-ramesh-kumar-elected-chairman-of-na-committee-on-statistics/|accessdate=6 April 2018|work=www.pakistantoday.com.pk}}</ref> In April 2018, he quit PML-N and joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).<ref>{{cite news|title=Big blow to PML-N as MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar joins PTI|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/301709-big-blow-to-pml-n-as-mna-dr-ramesh-kumar-joins-pti|accessdate=7 April 2018|work=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}</ref>
He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI on a reserved seat for minorities in 2018 Pakistani general election.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Reporter |first1=The Newspaper's Staff |title=List of MNAs elected on reserved seats for women, minorities |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1426560/list-of-mnas-elected-on-reserved-seats-for-women-minorities |accessdate=12 August 2018 |work=DAWN.COM |date=12 August 2018}}</ref> He stood against his party policy in no confidence motion.
On 13 May 2024, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended his membership as a member of the National Assembly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Notification dated 13 May 2024 |url=https://ecp.gov.pk/storage/uploads/4YGUlQBsbV8JL4GCQqiYWeBEPvR9xqPrzOtOMYht.pdf |website=ecp.gov.pk |publisher=Election Commission of Pakistan |access-date=14 May 2024 |archive-date=14 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514002843/https://ecp.gov.pk/storage/uploads/4YGUlQBsbV8JL4GCQqiYWeBEPvR9xqPrzOtOMYht.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> This action followed a Supreme Court of Pakistan decision to suspend the verdict of the Peshawar High Court, which had denied the allocation of a reserved seat to the PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council bloc.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Khan |first1=Iftikhar A. |title=Ruling coalition loses two-thirds majority in NA |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1833376/ruling-coalition-loses-two-thirds-majority-in-na |access-date=14 May 2024 |work=DAWN.COM |date=14 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== *Mahesh Kumar Malani
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vankwani, Ramesh Kumar}} Category:Living people Category:Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Category:Pakistani Hindus Category:Sindh MPAs 2002–2007 Category:Pakistan Muslim League (N) MNAs Category:Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023 Category:1974 births Category:Pakistani MNAs 2024–2029